New Regency and Verbinski's shingle Blind Wink will join forces on the film, which will adapt a graphic novel by Guy Delisle.

The book recounts the French-Canadian cartoonist's travels to North Korea, where he supervised the production on a children's cartoon show. His work visa allowed him to be one of the few Westerners to see up close and personal what it is like to live in the secretive and repressive Communist society.

He recounts his experiences traveling in a place where time essentially stands still, a cult of personality revolves around Kim Jong-Il and the ice cream is inedible.

"They don't want to have trouble with the population, so they keep them in a state of fright," Delisle explained in a 2006 interview with NPR.

Steve Conrad ("The Secret Life of Walter Mitty") will write the screenplay.

Verbinski is currently in post-production on "The Lone Ranger," his mega-budget collaboration with Johnny Depp that is set for release next summer. He previously collaborated with Depp on three "Pirates of the Caribbean" movies and on "Rango," which won an Oscar for Best Animated Film in 2012.